Semantics

I used to talk openly about God and my faith, all the time.

In a secular world, particularly in America, this is a big no. You quickly alienate people and receive judgement from others and become labeled as superstitious and ignorant. This is, of course, excluding others who believe as you do. Even then, if you're militant about it, the American pioneer mentality - pave your own way in life, and let others take care of their own - mostly rejects the open discussion of faith among others, including friends.

To me, God is love. This is the first and foremost aspect of Christianity that I follow. Some people take issue with that. Some people wonder how God could possibly be love in a world like this, and become angry or indignant. Some people want it to be true, but can't bring themselves to believe. Some people believe that love is the most important thing in the world, but refuse to give that label to God because of their views on organized religion. Some people can't bring themselves to believe in a higher power because of what we've learned as a society about the world and the way it works, and the laws that govern it. I am talking, of course, about science.

I realized that talking about God does not resonate with very many people, and in most cases, pushes them away. What I wanted to do was spread the "good word" - that love is the most important thing in life. To many, God is a label that is far from synonymous with love. It is a label that brings to mind crusades, corrupt church officials, bigotry, persecution, conflict, and, in the worst cases, death. Many people I know who once believed or wanted to believe in God have since married the word with negativity.

God has become a taboo word. Jesus Christ is a swear. Go ahead, say it in public - I dare you. "Jesus Christ!" *Gasp* "Watch your language!"

There's about two thousand years of history getting in the way and clouding the truth of one very basic thing: God and Love are one in the same.

So I decided to stop talking about God.

I decided to start talking about Love instead.

Love is such a universal concept that it's impossible not to revere it. It's all powerful, all consuming, brilliant, warm, inviting, and worth fighting and dying for. Anyone who has ever loved someone can attest to this. There are things in this world that take the concept of love from us. Anyone who has ever experienced suffering - persecution, loneliness, failure, death - knows how important the need for love to fill a person's life is. Without it, life ceases to be life. It becomes painful, empty, and meaningless. Even people who have never known what it is like to love someone else can most likely admit to the fact that they have wanted to - dearly and desperately. Love is what we are designed for, what we live for, what we constantly seek and desire to cultivate amongst ourselves and others.

Love is life. Life is love.

It's the only thing worth existing for.